Apparatus for transporting and quenching coke pushed from horizontal coking chambers

ABSTRACT

1. An apparatus for transporting and quenching coke discharged from a horizontally-arranged battery of coke oven chambers, in combination with a coke guide grating movable along a charging floor in front of the oven and into an aligned relationship with each of said coke oven chambers, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of coke transfer tanks each having an opening arranged toward said coke chamber for receiving coke discharged from said coke guide grating, a first pair of rails supporting at different times each of said coke transfer tanks for displacement into a position forming a smoke-tight contact with said oven, each of said tanks having a coke discharge outlet arranged below the hearth of said oven when supported by said first pair of rails at a position in front of the oven, a car supporting said first pair of rails and one of said coke tanks, a second pair of rails supporting said car for movement along said battery of coke oven chambers, a plurality of third rail sections arranged remotely from said coke oven chamber and in a selectively alignable relation with said first pair of rails supported by said car, a quenching chamber at each of said third rail sections arranged for receiving coke discharged from one of said coke tanks while supported on one of said third rail sections, means forming a smoke-tight connection between a coke transfer tank and a quenching chamber during the discharging of coke into the quenching chamber, a coke conveying chute in each of the quenching chambers for transporting coke discharged from one of said coke transfer tanks when arranged in a smoketight relation with one of the quenching chambers, controlled water sprinklers in each of the quenching chambers for cooling coke, said controlled water sprinklers being arranged above said coke conveying chute, and a vibrating conveyor for advancing coke while it is quenched.

7 3,843,460 APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND QUENCHING coma PUSHED.

v E. E. FRIES Oct. 22, 1974 Filed July 25, 1972 Oct. 22, 1974 Es I3,843,460

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND QUENCHING COKE PUSHED FROM HORIZONTALCOKING CHAMBERS Filed July 25, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. E. PRIES3,843,460 APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND QUENCHING COKE PUSHED Oct. .22,1974 FROM HORIZONTAL COKING CHAMBERS 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jul 25, 1972Oct. 22, 1974 E. E. PRIES 3,843,460

APPARATUS FOR THANSPORTING AND QUENCHING' CDKE PUSHED FROM HORIZONTALCOKING CHAMBERS Filed July 25, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet United States PatentAPPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND QUENCH- ING COKE PUSHED FROM HORIZONTALCOK- ING CHAMBERS Erich E. Pries, Bochum, West Germany, assignor to Dr.

C. Otto & Comp. G.m.b.H., Bochum, West Germany Filed July 25, 1972, Ser.No. 275,093 Claims priority, application West Germany, Aug. 20, 1971, P21 41 696.6 Int. Cl. Cb 39/12 US. Cl. 202-230 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Apparatus for transporting and quenching coke which is pushedfrom a horizontal coke chamber through a guide grating and into a coketransfer tank. The guide grating is movable along the charging floor foralignment with the coking chamber. The coke transfer tank is carried ona car for movement along the charging floor. The car includes railsarranged to support the coke transfer tank for displacement toward thecoke oven in a smoke-tight contact with the guide grating. A waste gasexhaust system is associated with the coke transfer tank whichadditionally includes a coke support floor arranged to slope downwardlyin a direction extending away from the coke guide. A lockable outlet isprovided in the side wall of the tank at a point where the lowered endof the floor joins the side wall. The car carries the tank from the cokeovens to one of a plurality of remotely located quenching chambers wherethe tank is arranged in a smoke-tight connection with the chamber andthe coke contained therein is discharged in a thin layer onto vibratingchutes which conveys the coke below sprinklers for cooling the coke.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The conventional apparatus for receivingcoke which is pushed from a coke oven generally includes an inclinedquenching car arranged for movement in front of a battery of coke ovens.The coke is transported by a car to a quenching car where it is sprayedwith such quantities of water so that automatic ignition of the cokeload can no longer take place. This system has several drawbacks, one ofwhich relates to the formation of dust and smoke clouds which pollutethe environment as the coke is dropped onto the loading surface of thequenching car. As this occurs, automatic combustion of the cokecommences. The coke is deposited on the loading surface of the quenchingcar in an unequal height along the bed of the car. This requires suchquantities of water for cooling which partially submerge the coke inwater.

There are other known arrangements which provide quenching cars that aremoved in front of the oven for receiving the coke which is thenimmediately quenched either partly or completely. This arrangement hasthe serious disadvantage that water lines must be connected to supplylines to deliver the Water for quenching the coke. In addition, theapparatus usually provided for removing the toxic vapors duringquenching is a cumbersome structure. This type of coke quenchingoperation seriously limits the number of coke oven chambers that can beemptied into such a quenching car and then processed during a givenperiod of time, for example, 1 hour.

There are other known arrangements of apparatus which are operated byfirst conveying the coke to a tank. The conveying apparatus is connectedto the coking chamber in a smoke-tight manner by means of a guide gratewhich is constructed for movement with the tank along the battery ofcoke ovens. The total time required for charging the tank, thentransferring it to a quenching apparatus 3,843,460 Patented Oct. 22,1974 ice and followed by emptying the coke from the tank is,particularly with respect to large oven units, a multiple of the timerequired for pushing the coke from each oven chamber. This cokequenching sequence has an operation capacity such that it can serve onlya limited number of oven chambers. This generates a great shortage incoke handling capacity which as a result produces disturbances anddisruptions to the operation of the coke ovens.

In one final aspect, there are different known processes by which cokemay be spread out for quenching and as an incident to which it istransferred or conveyed. When coke is transferred from the oven in thismanner, considerable time loss occurs between the succeeding cokepushing operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an overall object of the presentinvention to provide a combination of apparatus constructed and arrangedin a manner to assure a rapid sequence for pushing coke from an ovenfollowed by the quenching of the coke.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatusto function in a reliable and at an economically feasible cost whilepreventing smoke pollution during the pushing of coke from the oven andlimiting the water consumption for the quenching process.

According to the present invention, there is provided a plurality ofcoke transfer tanks which are transported in an alternative manner by aflat-bed car between a horizontal battery of coke oven chambers and oneof a plurality of quenching chambers into which the coke is dischargedfor quenching. Each transfer tank has an opening for alignment with theoven chamber and a tank floor which slopes downwardly in the directionextending from the oven chamber to a point below the oven hearth. At itsdepressed side, the tank has a lockable outlet joining the floor. Thefiat-bed car has rails supporting the coke transfer tank fordisplacement toward the oven chamber into a smoke-tight engagement witha guide chute.

The invention further provides that each quenching chamber incorporatesvibrating chutes by which coke discharged from the coke transfer tank isconveyed in a thin layer below water sprays for quenching the coke.Control means are provided for the quenching sprays in response tomeasurements of the coke bed height on the vibrating chutes and the coketravel speed by the chutes.

These features and advantages of the present invention as well as otherswill become more apparent to those skilled in the art when the followingdescription is read in light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevational view showing the apparatus accordingto the present invention in combination with a coke oven chamber afterthe pushing of coke from the oven;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the coke receiving tank and supportcar shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the quenching chambers and the cokereceiving tank apparatus; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view in section illustrating a quenchingchamber and the discharge end of the coke receiving tank.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is illustrated the dehvery end of abattery of horizontal, underburner-type, coke ovens having chambers 10.Braces 11 support the masonry surrounding the coke oven chamber. Acharging floor 12 extends in a horizontal direction at the coke side ofthe oven. A celler area 13 is arranged below the regenerators for thecoke oven. Wheels 14 support a coke guide grate 15 for displacementalong the charging floor 12. Th e coke guide grate 15 has extensionpieces 16 PI'OJeOtlDg beyond the charging floor. The extension pieces 16define a sloping extending end which is adapted to pass into an opening17 formed in a coke transfer tank 19. A door 18 is supported on the carfor movement to one side thereof to expose the opening 17 when the grateis to be received therein. As clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the coketransfer tank extends below the charging floor and defines a trapezoidoutline formed by an inner wall 20, an outer end wall 21 and two sidewalls 22 which converge in an outward direction. The tank furtherincludes a sloping bottom 23 which extends in a downward direction awayfrom the coke oven to an opening 50 in the end wall 21, which can beclosed by a hinged door 55. The coke transfer tank has a portionextending above the charging floor which is formed by an inner wall 24,an outer wall 26 and two side Walls which are joined together at the topof the tank. A waste gas pipe 27 in the upper part of one of the sidewalls 25 extends in a downward direction outside the tank. The pipe hasan elbow 28 on its free end by which it is connected to a suction anddisintegrating apparatus 37 supported in a H stationary manner on afiat-bed car 31.

Rails 30 are arranged on the flat-bed car 31 to support the coketransfer tank 19 in a manner for movement in a direction normal to themovement of the flat-bed car 31. A drive 64 displaces the coke transfertank 19 on the flat-bed car 31. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the loadingposition of the coke tank is represented by solid lines while thephantom lines illustrate walls 21A and 26A when the tank is in a remoteposition where it is separated from the coke guide 15. The fiat-bed car31 has a plurality of wheels 33 supported on tracks 32 by which the caris displaceable along the entire length of the coke oven and to aquenching station. A cabin 35 for the operating personnel is arranged onthe car opposite the suction and disintegrating apparatus 37. When thecoke transfer tank is shifted from the transporting position, shown byphantom lines in FIG. 1, to the coke loading position, the pipe elbow 28engages a trumpet-like end formed in a connecting pipe 36 of thedisintegrating apparatus 37 which further includes a flue 38. Referencenumeral 85 indicates the upper surface of the coke after it is pushedinto the coke transfer tank 19.

Referring now to FIG. 4, pairs of rail sections 39 extend at rightangles to the tracks 32, which support the flat-bed car 31 during itstravel from the coke oven to a building 40 having a plurality ofquenching chambers 42. Each of these chambers is provided with avapor-discharge flue 41. In FIG. 4, there is illustrated a coke tank 19arranged in an aligned relationship with a pair of rails 39. Let it beassumed that the coke tank 19 is empty and supported on the fiat-bed car31 for displacement to a coke oven chamber which is to be unloaded.While this occurs, the rail section 39 shown to the left of FIG. 4,supports a coke transfer tank which is filled with hot coke deliveredfrom the coke oven and previously brought to the left-hand quenchingchamber 42.

FIG. 5 illustrates the relationship between the coke transfer tank 19when arranged in its discharge position at a quenching chamber. Eachquenching chamber 42 includes two tandemly-arranged vibrating chutes 43and 44, each having a fiat, coke supporting bottom surface 45 thatslopes in a direction away from the point of en trance of the coke in amanner so that the coke is slowly moved along the vibrating chutes whileit is quenched by water sprayed through overhead nozzles 48. Thesenozzles are connected to water supply pipes 46 including regulatingvalves 46A in a water supply distribution chamber 47. The valves 46Acontrol the spraying of water on the coke in response to a signal inline 70 from a controller 71. The controller 71 receives a signal in aline 72 from a potentiometer actuated gage arm 73 that is pivotallysupported by the vertical guide walls of the chute 44 and employed tomeasure the height of the coke bed on the bottom surface 45. A motor 74drives the vibrating chutes 43 and 44. A signal generator 75 is drivenby motor 74 to produce a signal in line 76 proportional to the cokeconveying speed by the chutes 43 and 44. The controller 71 combines thesignals in lines 72 and 76 to operate the valves 46A for quenching thecoke in a controllable manner without the use of excess ve quantities ofwater. At the delivery side of the vibrat ng chutes, there is arranged atemperature-measuring device 49 for indicating the temperature of thecoke after quenching.

Referring again to the coke transfer tank 19, FIG. 5 illustrates that atthe point where the outer wall 21 joins the bottom 23, there ispivotally supported a short discharge ramp 65 which extends below theopenings 50 in the tank to a point which is spaced a slight distancefrom the quenching chamber. The inlet to the quenching chamber is closedby a hinged door 51. Push arms 52 are arranged on the outside of thecoke tank thereby, upon advancement of the tank, to raise the door 51 inthe quenching chamber to the phantom-line position 51A and at the sametime, the ramp 65 assumes the phantomline position 65A. The door 55 onthe coke tank is connected to arms 53 rotatably supported about a shaft56 mounted on the tank. The arms 53 have end rollers 54 that form atoggle linkage. The rollers 54, in the position shown in FIG. 5, havejust come to rest at the front of the wall 57 of the quenching chamber.As further advancement of the coke transfer tank occurs, the rollers 54are displaced in an upward direction along the front wall 57 where thearms 53 pivot about the shaft 56 and the door 55 assumes the positionshown by phantom lines 55A. This provides a smoke-tight path for the hotcoke to travel from the tank 19 through a smoke-tight connection to theinterior of the quenching chamber 42. The bed height of the sliding hotcoke is established by the position of the door 51 with respect to theramp 65 from Where the coke passes on to the floor 45 of the vibratingchutes 43 where it is slowly conveyed. At the discharge side of thevibrating chute 44, the coke slides over coke breeze in a bucket 59 andthence onto a ramp 61 and conveyor 62. A trough 63 conveys the quenchingwater for recycling.

The flues 41 are each provided with adjustable louvers 66 for theseparation of solids and they each further include a sprinklingapparatus 67 for the separation of airborne pollutants usually in theform of gases.

By controlling the sprinkling of the coke with water, there is assuredan optimum quenching of the coke. By employing the apparatus shown, itis possible to regulate the drives of the vibrating chutes so as toestablish a very exact rate of coke travel. Moreover, the water con tentin the coke during quenching is kept at a sufiiciently low quantity bycontrolling the quantity of water that is sprinkled onto the coke. Asufiicient stabilization of the coke occurs due to the repeatedcirculation of the coke that takes place first during the emptying ofthe coke from the coke transfer tank and then with the discharging ofthe coke into the quenching chamber followed by its transportation bymeans of the vibrating chutes.

The bucket 59 which is usually filled with breeze can be hoisted bymeans of a cable 60 to a position shown by phantom lines 59A. In thismanner, the bucket can be emptied from time to time.

After the contents from the coke tank are released and discharged intothe quenching chamber, the tank is displaced by drive 64 in a directionaway from the quenching chamber a distance sufiicient so that the door51 is automatically closed and the lower opening 50 of the tank isclosed by the door 55. The coke transfer tank then stands ready on oneof the rail sections 39 from where it can be moved onto the fiat-bed car31 as soon as a filled transfer tank has been delivered from the cokeoven to the quenching chambers. In its preferred form, three coketransfer tanks are shuttled between the oven and the quenching chambersto utilize the maximum coke handling and quenching capacity.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a certainspecific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made tosuit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

We claim as our invention:

1. An apparatus for transporting and quenching coke discharged from ahorizontally-arranged battery of coke oven chambers, in combination witha coke guide grating movable along a charging floor in front of the ovenand into an aligned relationship with each of said coke oven chambers,said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of coke transfer tanks each having an opening arrangedtoward said coke chamber for receiving coke discharged from said cokeguide grating,

a first pair of rails supporting at different times each of said coketransfer tanks for displacement into a position forming a smoke-tightcontact with said oven,

each of said tanks having a coke discharge outlet arranged below thehearth of said oven when supported by said first pair of rails at aposition in front of the oven,

a car supporting said first pair of rails and one of said coke tanks,

a second pair of rails supporting said car for movement along saidbattery of coke oven chambers,

a plurality of third rail sections arranged remotely from said coke ovenchamber and in a selectively alignable relation with said first pair ofrails supported by said car,

a quenching chamber at each of said third rail sections arranged forreceiving coke discharged from one of said coke tanks while supported onone of said third rail sections,

means forming a smoke-tight connection between a coke transfer tank anda quenching chamber during the discharging of coke into the quenchingchamber,

a coke conveying chute in each of the quenching chambers fortransporting coke discharged from one of said coke transfer tanks whenarranged in a smoketight relation with one of the quenching chambers,

controlled water sprinklers in each of the quenching chambers forcooling coke, said controlled water sprinklers being arranged above saidcoke conveying chute, and

a vibrating conveyor for advancing coke while it is quenched.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means formeasuring the bed height of coke on said conveying chute, means formeasuring the coke conveying speed by said conveying chute, and controlmeans responsive to said measurement of said height of coke bed andtravel rate of coke for adjusting the water delivered by saidsprinklers.

3. An apparatus for transporting and quenching coke discharged from ahorizontally-arranged battery of coke oven chambers, in combination witha coke guide grating movable along a charging floor in front of the ovenand into an aligned relationship with each of said coke oven chambers,said apparatus comprising:

a coke transfer tank having exhaust means for waste gas and an openingarranged toward said coke chamher for receiving coke discharged fromsaid coke guide grating,

a first pair of rails supporting said coke transfer tank fordisplacement toward an oven chamber into a position forming asmoke-tight contact with said oven,

said tank including a floor disposed below the coke oven hearth andhaving an increased width a compared with the width of the coke ovenchamber,

said floor being arranged on an inclined plane which extends downwardlyin a direction away from said oven,

said tank having a lockable outlet joined with said floor at the sideremote from said oven,

a car supporting said first pair of rails for said coke transfer tank,

a second pair of rails supporting said car for movement along saidbattery of coke oven chambers,

rail sections for said coke tank arranged remotely from said coke ovenchamber and in an alignable relation with said first pair of railscarried by said car,

a quenching chamber for receiving coke discharged from said coke tankwhile arranged on said rail sections,

means forming a smoke-tight connection between said coke transfer tankand said quenching chamber,

said quenching chamber including a driven coke conveying chute fortransporting coke in a layer as discharged from said coke transfer tank,

controlled water sprinklers arranged in said quenching chamber forcooling coke on said conveyor, and

a vibrating conveyor for advancing coke while it is quenched.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said car is further definedas having a fiat bed for supporting said first pair of rails, means fordisplacing said coke transfer tank in a direction normal to movement ofsaid car.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 further comprising a flue for eachof said quenching chambers for vapors produced during quenching of coke,adjustable louvers arranged in said flue for separating solidparticulate matter airborne during quenching of coke, and watersprinkling means associated with said adjustable louvers.

6. An apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising means formeasuring the bed height of coke on said conveying chute, means formeasuring the conveying speed of coke by said conveying chute, andcontrol means responsive to said measurement of said bed height of cokeand conveying speed of coke for adjusting the water delivered by saidsprinklers.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a tiltablebucket arranged in said quenching chamber at the discharge side of saidconveying chute.

8. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for forming asmoke-tight connection comprises a door forming part of said lockableoutlet in said car, said apparatus further comprising a door for closingan inlet opening to said quenching chamber, and means for displacingeach of said doors to form a smoke-tight connection between said coketransfer tank and said quenching chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,580,813 5/1971 Hinchliife202--230 2,997,427 8/1961 Mansfield 202230 2,975,106 3/1961 Becker201-39 3,721,609 3/ 1973 Spindeler 202-230 FOREIGN PATENTS 568,713 7/1958 Belgium 202230 NORMAN YUDKOF, Primary Examiner DARRELL SANDERS,Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 20 l39

1. An apparatus for transporting and quenching coke discharged from ahorizontally-arranged battery of coke oven chambers, in combination witha coke guide grating movable along a charging floor in front of the ovenand into an aligned relationship with each of said coke oven chambers,said apparatus comprising: a plurality of coke transfer tanks eachhaving an opening arranged toward said coke chamber for receiving cokedischarged from said coke guide grating, a first pair of railssupporting at different times each of said coke transfer tanks fordisplacement into a position forming a smoke-tight contact with saidoven, each of said tanks having a coke discharge outlet arranged belowthe hearth of said oven when supported by said first pair of rails at aposition in front of the oven, a car supporting said first pair of railsand one of said coke tanks, a second pair of rails supporting said carfor movement along said battery of coke oven chambers, a plurality ofthird rail sections arranged remotely from said coke oven chamber and ina selectively alignable relation with said first pair of rails supportedby said car, a quenching chamber at each of said third rail sectionsarranged for receiving coke discharged from one of said coke tanks whilesupported on one of said third rail sections, means forming asmoke-tight connection between a coke transfer tank and a quenchingchamber during the discharging of coke into the quenching chamber, acoke conveying chute in each of the quenching chambers for transportingcoke discharged from one of said coke transfer tanks when arranged in asmoketight relation with one of the quenching chambers, controlled watersprinklers in each of the quenching chambers for cooling coke, saidcontrolled water sprinklers being arranged above said coke conveyingchute, and a vibrating conveyor for advancing coke while it is quenched.